Nigeria has recorded a landmark moment in international sports administration, with Adeyinka Samuel, president of the Nigeria Fencing Federation, elected president of the Commonwealth Fencing Federation, becoming the first African and the first Nigerian to hold the position.

Samuel secured the role after defeating incumbent Marie-France Dufour at the federation’s elective Annual General Meeting, held at Rugby School Nigeria in Atlantic City on Saturday.

He polled 14 votes to Dufour’s six, a decisive win that ends a long stretch in which the CFF presidency was held exclusively by representatives from countries such as Scotland, Australia, and Canada.

The election arrives at a symbolic moment for Nigerian fencing, coinciding with the country’s hosting of the senior and veteran Commonwealth Fencing Championships in Lagos, an event drawing more than 20 participating nations. This year’s edition also carries historic weight of its own, as organisers have for the first time recognised Under-23 and wheelchair fencing as medal-yielding categories, a move aimed at broadening inclusivity within the sport.

Delegates at the AGM pointed to Samuel’s trajectory, from a world-class competitive fencer to the head of Nigeria’s national federation, as central to his appeal for the continental role. Under his leadership, Nigeria has already hosted International Fencing Federation-sanctioned Junior World Cups and African Championships, positioning the country as a credible venue for major tournaments.

With his election and Nigeria’s hosting of the Commonwealth Championships arriving in the same window, Samuel’s win is being read as more than a personal achievement, but as a marker of Nigeria’s, and by extension Africa’s, growing influence in international sports governance.

Photo Credit: PM News